Fact Check: Debunking Donald Trump’s Claims About Voter Fraud

In a video, the president repeated numerous false and debunked claims about the election.

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President Donald Trump released a video on Tuesday, in which he explains why he thinks he actually won the 2020 presidential election. “The truth is we won the election by a landslide, we won it big,” said Trump of an election President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 7 million votes and 74 electoral votes.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1341565405509394440

In the video, Trump claims that after early returns showed him ahead in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, “a series of massive and statistically inconceivable vote dumps” swung the states to Biden. He stated: “At 6:31 a.m., very early in the morning, Michigan suddenly reported 147,224 votes. 94 percent for Biden, 6 percent for Trump. At 4:42 a.m. Wisconsin reported 143,279 votes, almost all of them for Biden. A similar massive drop of ballots happened in Georgia at 1:34 a.m., again almost all of these votes for Biden.”

The Michigan ballots have already been addressed in a past fact check: Michigan did not suddenly report 147,224 ballots, with 94 percent, or, more precisely 138,339 ballots, going to Biden. A nonpartisan election news outlet, Decision Desk HQ, reported a typo in election data, reporting 153,710 Biden votes in one county instead of 15,371. 

The error was quickly caught and corrected. As Khaya Himmelman noted in her fact check on the matter: “It’s important to stress, too, that all this was purely clerical—a data entry hiccup, not in ballot counting itself. No new ballots were ‘found.’”

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  1. David Rice

    Thanks Alec! Is there any chance you guys are working on a fact check on the prospect of congressional objections and the possibility of "martial law" reportedly proposed by Michael Flynn?

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    Philbnichols

    Thanks, Alec, and TheD Fact Check team!!

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  3. Jo Ann Barefoot

    My sister had an interesting idea: how about a bipartisan fact-check documentary? Biden could appoint a bipartisan commission led by individuals who, taken together, can be highly trusted on both sides. It would investigate the 2020 vote, fully fact-check and report on all the claims, and recommend steps to build confidence in future elections. Then the commission would issue not just a traditional report, but also a documentary. It should show everything that both sides agreed on based on their investigation, and also highlight where they didn't agree, with thorough evidence. The documentary could be a multi-part series with strong production value that sustains viewers' interest. News outlets across the political spectrum would be asked to run it in full, not just cherry pick it for material that supports preconceived arguments. A lot of people care about this election, but hardly any will read a thousand-page report. That means that the results of any blue ribbon review will be interpreted and spun for the polarized electorate by the same people who are already feeding them material aimed at polarizing them more. Why, in today's high-tech media world, are we still trying to inform the public through old-school methods like door-stop sized written reports?

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      Matmos

      This is a fantastic idea.

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    rlritt

    Great info. I would love for prominent Republicans to read this and come to the conclusion that there was no fraud.

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      Barry Alexander

      I'm sure most, or more like virtually all of them, do know there was little fraud, certainly not enough to swing the election. Politicians lie, but Trump has taken it to a whole new level, and a lot of Republican politicians have meekly fallen in line.

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    Victor Clairmont

    Is there anyway for the future, to put all these fact checks together in a large thread?

    I have a feeling I will need to reference these fact checks months to even years from now, and it would be amazing if there was a way to have them all in one place.

    Thanks for the fact checks!

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    1. Mrobertchase1

      Excellent idea!

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  6. rj_jr

    Wow this is thorough work thank you for the summary. Have had a subscription for a week and already feel that it has been worth every penny.

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    Mike Evans

    Fantastic job Alec. Thank you for keeping up with all this craziness.

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    BWG

    Thanks Alec, I'm sure this is getting tedious. But it's really important to fact check such claims, and debunk them when they are indeed unfounded. Appreciate your efforts.

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  9. Jaybrown

    Good work, Alec. Thanks to you and all The Dispatchers for all the work for true reporting.

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